Sandra Juárez López, Supply Manager of Shared Services Northern Area, shares some tips for team management. "Knowing personal and work needs allows you to focus on motivation points." 

"Buying and negotiating is my passion! Each project is a different scenario and that makes me dynamic, innovative, quick to react, and effective; I also try to be flexible and adapt to different cultures. At this point in my career, I have had to build teams, train new generations, and I have not stopped learning, so I feel fulfilled personally and professionally."

This is how Sandra Juárez López describes what she likes most about her job at Techint E&C.

Industrial and Systems Engineer, she is the Head of Shared Services Supply for the Northern Area. She works in coordination with the offices in Argentina and Italy, participating in the company's projects in different parts of the world.

She is currently working for the Dos Bocas Refinery (Mexico), Fortin de Piedra and Shell Pipeline (Argentina), Laguna Seca TTS and Collahuasi (Chile) projects.

"I have been consolidating the Shared Services Purchasing team in Mexico for five years. I am in charge of the planning, follow-up and control of the procurement processes, according to the budget and schedule of each project. I assign responsibilities to the team, according to the criticalities generated by the different works, achieving simultaneous benefits", explains Sandra.

But getting here was a long learning curve. He joined the Supply area of Techint E&C in October 2006, where he started with the purchase of piping for the Sauz and Tamazunchale gas pipelines. Then he went through different works until the repowering of the Internal Coal Handling System in the Plutarco Elias Calles Thermoelectric Power Plant and Norte III started the formation of the Shared Services team in the North area.

According to Sandra, working at Techint "has been fascinating. Starting with the learning, the exchange of cultures, the diversity in all aspects, and a career full of challenges. Each project brings a special spice that makes me motivate myself and bring out the best in me, giving added value to each of my efforts; it has left me with good and bad experiences that have forged my character, giving me strength every time I move forward".

One such experience was a few years ago, with a large water plant contract. "It was a difficult supplier. The negotiation lasted several weeks, with strong exchanges, a lot of mental stress and, as a final context, I was pregnant, which made the situation more complex from a personal point of view. What was the result? We reached an agreement that benefited both parties and today the plant is operating within the project".

From his point of view, innovation is an important and necessary aspect for Techint as a first-level company. As regards Supplies, "the Bidding Point allows us to maintain the confidentiality of bids, respecting the transparency of the procurement process management; and the electronic PSR facilitates the total follow-up of the purchasing process. These new technologies help us to plan, develop and obtain better project results.

In her role as manager, she believes that to achieve good communication in work teams it is essential "to have clear and defined objectives, provide the necessary tools for the development of their activities, seek to create a friendly atmosphere, and know the personal and work needs to focus on the points of motivation. It is very important to have empathy with the work team. I believe that by applying these aspects, it is possible to achieve good communication and be a better leader.